ARTIFICIALLY INDUCED GENETIC VARIATION IN FRUIT TREES

Mutation breeding methods are gradually becoming more and more successful in vegetatively propagated plants, as demonstrated by the rapidly increasing number of commercial mutants, predominantly of ornamentals.
In woody plants, such as fruit trees, the role of mutation breeding has, so far, been restricted as a consequence of the size of the plants, the length of the vegetative period and the formation of chimeras.

Ways of improving the efficiency of mutation breeding are discussed, as by improving the mutation spectrum, by fast production of stable mutants and by early screening of desirable genotypes.
The availability of an adventitious bud technique in vitro, perhaps in combination with the application of chemical mutagens, seems interesting, in producing non-chimerical and desirable mutant genotypes.

Symposium on Clonal Variation in Apple and Pear

C. Broertjes

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1977.75.2